Karasush bowed politely. ''Greetings noble lords, I-"

He then ducked as Raynald surged forward and brought around his sword to place it at the satyr's throat. Relg raised a knife, and everyone drew their weapons. It looked like he would be cut to pieces, but he raised his hands in a panic.

"I am here under parley and may not be assailed!" cried Karasush.

"Really?" asked Raynald. "I see no white flag. I assumed you were here to attack us." He sheathed his blade. "Karasush, I know exactly what you have been doing all this time. I see very little reason not to cut your throat and throw your body to the wolves."

"I understand you have great reason to be angry with me-" said Karasush.

"Understatement of the century," noted William.

"I assure you, I only cooperated with Melchious out of fear for my people," said Karasush. "Had I disobeyed him, he would have surely destroyed us."

"Hmm, interesting," said Raynald. "I'm not sure we care. Relg, Tanith, do we care?"

"No. No, we do not," said Relg, grasping a spear from a soldier.

Tanith raised her sword and smiled murderously.

"As I thought," said Raynald. "Leave Karasush. We're coming for your people next."

"If you will, but listen to me-" began Karasush.

"To hell with your-" began Raynald.

Then Rusara put a hand on Raynald's shoulder and moved forward. "I apologize for that. We have lost a great many friends, and tempers are running high. Raynald, let us give him a chance to explain himself."

Raynald paused. "...As you wish."

"Please understand, my people were on the verge of being wiped out," said Karasush. "I gave him a place in Fortenex's domain in exchange for his assistance. However, I got more than I bargained for.

"I am perfectly willing to make amends for the damages caused by our mistakes."

"Make amends?' said Relg. "Thousands are dead because of you! My brother is dead because of you! And now you come to us when the battle is already won and claim you desire to make amends?!"

"The battle is not yet won," said Karasush. "Many of the tormented spirits from which the raishans are formed were not purified. They have returned to many nests to breed new armies. It will take many months for you to find them all, and you will face several more battles in that time.

"Is that what you want?"

"What can you do to help?" asked Raynald.

"I made a point of keeping track of where all the raishan nests were created," said Karasush. "Melchious' minions were instructed not to harm my people. If you spare my people, I can lead you to all of them. This war could be over in a month instead of a year, and many innocent lives were saved.

"I beg of you to consider it."

"Very well. We will consider it," said Relg. "Guards, escort Karasush to a cell while we discuss the matter. There are to be no accidents."

"As you wish," said one of the guards.

"No," said Raynald in the voice you never want to disobey. "Karasush, we will discuss this matter ourselves. For now, we will tolerate your presence."

"Of course," Karasush turned and walked some distance away.

They cleared that section of the wall of everyone save for a select few officers. Tanith, William, Relg, Rusara, and Raynald were all there. William bitterly wished Felix were here, but he'd seen neither heads nor tails of him. He hoped he was alright.

"That was discourteous," said Raynald. "And a violation of parley."

"You went at him with a sword," noted Relg.

"That was before he was officially under parley," noted Raynald.

"Look around you, Raynald!" said Relg. "This entire war is a violation! We have a right to his head! The least we should do is ensure he isn't made comfortable while awaiting our judgment!"

"Calm yourself, Relg," said Rusara. "These decisions must be made with a cool head. Karasush offers us valuable information in exchange for mercy. I think we should grant it."

"I think we should ask for more," said Raynald. "He is in no position to bargain with us."

"Actually, he is," said Rusara. "If we wipe out his people, his natural ally is the Calishans. If he goes to them, we could have another war. And we aren't in a position to fight one.

"Moreover, his people assisted Laughing Wraith in their plans. And Korasus sounds very similar to Karasush as names go."

"Are you suggesting they are the same person?" asked Raynald. "Then, he is already working with the Calishans."

"No," said Rusara, "he may very well have been threatened by Melchious even then. Either he is a scheming monster or a man whose plans have spiraled out of control."

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"I find monster more likely," said Relg.

"Why don't we just agree to his terms, wipe out the raishans, and then kill his entire clan anyway?" asked Tanith.

There were murmurs of agreement.

"Tanith, I'm ashamed that one of my students would suggest such a travesty!" snapped Raynald. "We are knights of Harlenor, not cutthroats! Our word is our bond! To promise mercy and betray that promise is simple murder, and I won't hear any more of it!"

Tanith flinched and bowed her head. "Forgive me, Lord Raynald."

"I demand a weregild," said Relg suddenly.

"Hmm?" said Raynald.

"A weregild. Payment for every member of my clan and my ally's clans who died" said Relg. "They are to all be considered murderers. I will not accept anything less."

"That seems reasonable to me," mused Rusara. "For our part, we could demand he honor his side of his bargain with William and pay tribute to Antion."

"Why would he agree to that?" asked Raynald. "The cost would be massive."

"It would benefit him as well as us," noted Rusara. "We'd have an obligation to defend him if someone invaded him, and we'd get tribute."

"Would he even be able to afford any of this?" asked William.

"I expect he can," said Relg. "With all the people fleeing their homes, he has had ample opportunity to loot their houses. That is what I would do."

"This may work," said Rusara. "If all goes as planned, we will unify Khasmir under Antion's standard. We may even establish peace."

"Peace of a graveyard, perhaps," muttered Relg.

"Tanith," said Rusara, "go get Karasush. William, leave us."

"But-" began William.

"Now," said Rusara.

"Yes," said William before departing. They probably were afraid Melchious might eavesdrop.

He wandered the battlefield as corpses were cleared away and lined up in many lines. Cloths had been put over them. Some of the bodies had been so torn up that there was no recognition of them. From the looks of things, the satyrs gathered sticks to burn the bodies. Funeral rites were being performed with alcohol and dancing.

Where was Felix? He hadn't been killed, had he? William prayed he hadn't.

Then, there was a flash, and Kiyora appeared. "Okay, I'm back."

"Kiyora?" said William. He wanted to ask, 'Where have you been?' But he already knew the answer. "I'm glad to see you."

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you too," said Kiyora. "I could use a friendly face. So what is going on here?"

"Raynald and Rusara are negotiating the end to this conflict," said William. "I assume by your presence that the raishans are more or less beaten."

"How should I know?" asked Kiyora. "I haven't been able to get here for weeks."

"Right, well, I trust all is well in your world?" said William.

"Yeah, I wish," said Kiyora. "I saved the city, and my family is repaying me by trying to marry me off to some guy I've never met."

Kiyora was getting married? That was good news, he supposed, provided it was a good match. Though she didn't seem happy, so perhaps it wasn't. "That is unfortunate. Is it a favorable match?"

"What did I just say?" asked Kiyora. "I've never met the guy!"

Sometimes, William just didn't understand her. "Well, yes, but that isn't relevant to the question."

"Right, whatever. No, it's not favorable," said Kiyora. "So, I put myself into a coma, and I'm negotiating with Alchara to cancel the thing."

"You mean to enforce your will on a god?" asked William.

"Well, I am one myself," said Kiyora.

"Yes, but Alchara is a greater god," said William. "I doubt you'll have much luck." He wasn't feeling up to this bickering. He was just going through the motions.

"Says you," scoffed Kiyora. "Your dad has arranged a meeting with her and everything. It's supposed to take place a week from now."

"Father must have some kind of plan then," mused William.

Kiyora bit her lip and gave him a look. "Wait, so you doubt me, the Dreaming Goddess, but you think your mortal father is capable of it?"

"Well, yes," said William. "Father is much smarter than you."

"Harsh," said Kiyora. "So, what's with the axe?"

William was reminded of the unholy weapon slung over his back. He brought it back around and tested the weight. "Oh, this? This is an unholy artifact of unfathomable power. Melchious intended to use for his ends but which I now possess. I threw him from my mind; it is a long story. Can we go over it later?"

"Sure," said Kiyora. "So, what's going to happen now?"

"Now?" asked William. "Well, I imagine there will be a long, boring series of negotiations. Nobody will get what they want. Though everyone will get something." He paused. "Father will probably end up negotiating the details from Artarq. Karasush will go there sooner or later. Then I expect we'll all cooperate in a lengthy campaign against the raishans."

"Nothing will really be solved; thousands will be dead, and Melchious will laugh."

"Wow, you've got a cheery outlook," said Kiyora.

"You can't win against demons," said William with a shrug. "They'd throw away everything they own as long as they cause a proportionate amount of misery to go with it."

"Is this from personal experience?" asked Kiyora.

"Yes and no," admitted William. "Laughing Wraith was formed from a portion of Melchious's soul. Or something along those lines."

"What?" asked Kiyora. "But then why would Melchious summon himself?"

"The portion that became Laughing Wraith was summoned into your world. Then summoned from there," said William. "It probably had a degree of, to be honest. I certainly do."

"You?" asked Kiyora.

"Yes, my soul was also formed from a fragment of Melchious' spirit," said William.

"So you're a demon?" asked Kiyora.

"No, I'm a human," said William. "My race is merely the body I inhabit. It just means that Melchious could possess me without any unholy ceremony. But that isn't an issue anymore; I drove him out."

"Okay, so does that make you and Laughing Wraith brothers?" asked Kiyora.

"No," said William. "Family is a matter of the physical realm. Who you are related to by blood. Souls don't have those same connections. Besides, all souls ultimately have the same uttermost source. The Soul Event Horizon."

"Which is?" asked Kiyora.

"Something very complicated. It is a sort of gate at the center of the cosmos," said William. "The first souls came from it. And any soul that enters it is drawn into it and cannot escape. Or perhaps he doesn't want to escape."

"Like a black hole?" guessed Kiyora.

"What in Elranor's name is a black hole?" asked William.

"It's a region of space with so much gravity that no matter or radiation can escape it," said Kiyora.

"I see," said William. "That explains everything. What is matter? What is gravity? And what is radiation?"

"You know what, I think maybe we should drop the subject," said Kiyora. "Are you alright?"

"Well, one of my friends is dead," said William.

Kiyora's eyes widened. "Felix?"

"No, another one," said William. "You never met him. I don't think it has set in yet."

"I'm sorry," said Kiyora. "So, what will you do now?"

William thought about it for a moment. "I just want to go home, to be honest."

"You and me both," said Kiyora.

It would be a long journey home.